Bomb lost off Tybee coast still fascinates

SAVANNAH, GA. — In the 50 years since a nuclear weapon splashed into Wassaw Sound, it has become a local legend, a 7,600-pound bomb that has dodged all efforts to detect it.

Its profile seems certain to grow larger since a novel that revolves around its presence was released last week during the Savannah Book Festival.

This new burst of publicity comes as a disappointment to retired Air Force Col. Howard Richardson, the man who dropped the bomb on Feb. 5, 1958.

"Once and for all, I just want to put this thing to rest," said Mr. Richardson from his home in Brandon, Miss.

Mr. Richardson, 86, served for 31 years, a sterling career that included 35 missions as a B-17 pilot in World War II. He put in thousands of hours as a Strategic Air Command pilot, shepherding B-47s and B-52s on globe-circling flights during the peak of the Cold War, an era when SAC bombers and crewmen were the tip of America's nuclear spear.

In an effort to keep crews sharp, SAC scheduled long, grueling and precise practice missions designed to mirror the strain of combat.

One of those flights brought Mr. Richardson to Savannah that fateful morning.

"The first thought that went through my mind was 'this is the one,'" Mr. Richardson said, recalling his reaction when his B-47 was struck by an F-86 fighter jet shortly after midnight Feb. 5, 1958.

The fighter pilot safely bailed out, but the bomber and its three-man crew stayed aloft. Their trial came near the end of a 10-hour simulated combat mission that had begun at Homestead Air Force Base, Fla., the crew's permanent duty station.

Then a major, Mr. Richardson took the bomber down to 20,000 feet immediately after it was struck by the F-86 and broadcast a mayday signal.

The tower at Hunter Air Force Base contacted the B-47, and Mr. Richardson made for Savannah.

But he faced a dilemma.

The runway at Hunter was being repaired, and each end was exposed, leaving 18 inches of concrete that could snag the bomber if Mr. Richardson landed short. That could have disastrous consequences because, to add realism to the mission, the craft was carrying an MK-15 bomb. The weapon contained 400 pounds of conventional explosives and highly enriched uranium.

Mr. Richardson says the bomb did not have the necessary nuclear capsule to arm it, but if the B-47 had hit the exposed concrete upon landing, it could have sent the MK-15 tearing through the plane.

Mr. Richardson dropped the bomb and proceeded to Hunter.

The colonel was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroism and skill.

A nine-week search off Tybee Island began almost immediately but failed to turn up any trace of the bomb. It was labeled "irretrievably lost."